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Today’s News Headlines:

MUSLIM EXTREMISTS IN INDONESIA THREATEN TO ATTACK FOREIGNERS GOSPEL KEEPS SPREADING DESPITE UNREST IN VENEZUELA BULGARIA’S NON-ORTHODOX CHURCHES FEAR PROPOSED RELIGION LAW REPAIRS TO TRANS WORLD RADIO’S FACILITIES IN GUAM MOVE AHEAD BELARUS PRESIDENT OPENS DOOR TO DAILY CHRISTIAN RADIO PROGRAM BOYS CREDIT GOD FOR ICY RIVER RESCUE IN MASSACHUSETTS

Today’s News Stories:

MUSLIM EXTREMISTS IN INDONESIA THREATEN TO ATTACK FOREIGNERS Muslim extremists in Indonesia are threatening to launch terrorist attacks on “international Christians and their friends” at Christmas unless they “get out of Afghanistan.” A group called the International Battalion of Death identified the foreign “enemies” as “America, England, Germany, Australia, France, Canada, the Netherlands, Italy, Japan, China, India, Sweden and others.” The terrorists say a “conspiracy of Christians” is responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Muslims in Palestine, Afghanistan, Iraq, the Philippines and Indonesia. Indonesian intelligence indicates that the group was responsible for the Bali bombings and a recent attack on a McDonald’s restaurant in Sulawesi. Two years ago a series of bombs exploded during Christmas in or near churches in Indonesia, leaving 19 people dead and more than 40 wounded. Some clergy received letter bombs. A year ago Christians and Muslims agreed to a peace accord, but it only lasted until January. (Evangelical News Agency IDEA)

GOSPEL KEEPS SPREADING DESPITE UNREST IN VENEZUELA Violent clashes over reported governmental corruption have not prevented the gospel from spreading in Venezuela. As the economic and political situation continues to spiral out of control, Omar Rodr ­guez of the Evangelical Free Church Mission says people are finding stability in the truth. “The church has an unprecedented opportunity right now to share the gospel that many people will find their hope and their faith for the future, not just of Venezuela, but of their families and themselves and Jesus Christ. As the Christmas season approaches, there’s unlimited potential right now to share the gospel.” Rodr ­guez says as the turmoil strikes at the people, it has presented a captive audience for teens eager to share their faith. “In our particular church, the youth are going to the different gas stations where there’s long lines, and they’re distributing bottled water, and then tracts to people and sharing the gospel.” He urges people to pray for the believers’ safety during this time of unrest. (Mission Network News)

* HCJB World Radio worked with local partners to establish a Christian station in La Morita, Venezuela, in 2000. Partner stations in two additional Venezuelan cities are also affiliated with the ALAS Latin American satellite radio network, operated jointly by HCJB World Radio and Trans World Radio. More than 107 radio outlets in 16 countries carry Spanish programming from the network.

BULGARIA’S NON-ORTHODOX CHURCHES FEAR PROPOSED RELIGION LAW Bulgaria’s Protestant churches are urging President Georgi Parvanov to veto a law that would force non-Orthodox Christians and other minority groups to obtain court approval to operate in the country, reported Keston News Service. News about the appeal came a day before Bulgaria’s parliament was to resume a debate today on the proposed law, aimed at further protecting the traditional Orthodox Church as Bulgaria’s “traditional faith. The legislation would also deny recognition to breakaway Orthodox clergy opposed to the denomination’s leader, Patriarch Maksim. Theodor Angelov, a Sofia-based pastor who heads the European Baptist Federation, said the law bears the imprint of Bulgaria’s communist past. “Officials believe religious activities are something dangerous that should be controlled,” he said. “This is the thinking behind this law, and it is this thinking that makes me afraid.” The law could give courts the authority to punish religious organizations for a variety of alleged offences by stopping their activities for up to six months, as well as banning the publication or distribution of religious publications or canceling an organization’s registration. Angelov also objected to the stiff punishments for “unauthorized” religious activity prescribed in the bill, with fines of up US$2,620. (Assist News Service)

REPAIRS TO TRANS WORLD RADIO’S FACILITIES IN GUAM MOVE AHEAD As local residents on the Pacific island of Guam begin piecing their homes and lives together after a devastating typhoon struck on Dec. 8, Trans World Radio’s recovery is also in full swing. TWR has been airing evangelistic and Bible teaching programs to Asia from Guam via powerful shortwave transmitters for 25 years. Although KTWR, TWR’s shortwave station in Guam, is still off the air, some broadcasts could resume as early as Friday. None of TWR’S nine missionary families serving in Guam were injured during the storm, and their homes only suffered minor damage. Typhoon Pongsona hit Guam with sustained winds of 150 miles per hour and gusts to 184 mph, flattening parts of the island. TWR operates five shortwave transmitters on Guam. The antenna array suffered severe damage, but all the towers remained erect. Three of the five antenna curtains were “shredded.” The others suffered less severe damage and are nearly repaired. These two provide service for China and Southeast Asia. It could take months before all of the equipment is operating normally again. Guam’s commercial power grid may be down for another month. While KTWR has emergency diesel generators, fuel is in short supply. Much of the island’s infrastructure is inoperable, and emergency services have been severely hampered. U.S. President George W. Bush has declared Guam a federal disaster area. Also, roads to the south end of the island where KTWR is located are still blocked by snapped concrete power poles, trees and erosion damage. (Trans World Radio)

BELARUS PRESIDENT OPENS DOOR TO DAILY CHRISTIAN RADIO PROGRAM Little more than a month after he signed what critics call “Europe’s most restrictive religion law,” Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko has agreed to allow a daily Christian radio program to air in his country, an official said on Tuesday. In a move that organizers describe as an “answer to prayer,” Lukashenko gave Christians the go-ahead to broadcast “Alpha Hour” on the country’s second largest FM radio network. Gator Henry, the program’s operations manager in Florida, said he has “personal assurances” that the show will be allowed to air across Minsk, a city of 1.5 million, and in the nearby city of Vitebsk. “The process to get to this point has taken more than 18 months, three personal meetings with Alpha Radio in Minsk, a multiplicity of e-mail communications, and more than two years of prayers by many people around the world,” Henry said. The permission comes amid international pressure on Lukashenko to improve human rights in his troubled nation. While the legal hurdles have been crossed, Henry said the station won’t go on the air until early 2003 after more funds are raised, the staff is trained and final preparations are made. Henry and his wife Vitalia, who is from Belarus, will leave Florida and settle in nearby Kiev, Ukraine, in January to coordinate the program. Henry said that Belarusian authorities could still jeopardize the program. “But we do know that right now, at such a time as this, the door is open.” (Assist News Service)

BOYS CREDIT GOD FOR ICY RIVER RESCUE IN MASSACHUSETTS Three boys who survived a plunge into an icy Massachusetts river as four friends drowned on the weekend credit God for sparing their lives. “I was scared and cold, but I was hoping that God would get me out of this mess,” said 10-year-old Jaycob Morales on NBC’s “Today” show. Jaycob was one of three boys who were saved Saturday after falling into the Merrimack River in Lawrence, a working-class city of 72,000 about 25 miles north of Boston. Another survivor, 9-year-old Francis Spraus, sobbed when asked about the terrifying moments as his friends slipped through the ice. “I thank God that God gave me another life,” he said. It is unclear whether all seven boys had been playing on the ice or whether some walked onto the ice to try to save their friends who were about 25 feet from shore in water up to 8 feet deep. (Religion Today)

* * * * * * * * * * * * * James A. Ferrier HCJB World Radio U.S. Ministries Communications Director E-mail: Phone: 1-719-590-9800 Fax: 1-719-590-9801 Web: http://www.hcjb.org http://www.beyondthecall.org * * * * * * * * * * * * *

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